Valentine's Dates
by crazytomboy78
Summary: Tony's got nothing to do for Valentine's Day, so he decides to ask his favorite redhead to join him for the occasion. One-shot, Pepperony. Not a sequel to Valentine's Day.


"Hey, Pep, wait up," Tony called after Pepper as she was leaving the Rhodes house for her own. Pepper stopped outside their front door and turned back to Tony.

"I-if you're not doing anything tomorrow, I was thinking maybe we could hang out...you know, a-as friends..." Tony said shyly as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Pepper smiled and blushed.

"Sure, that sounds fun. I'd love to." Tony smiled at this.

"Cool," He rejoiced shyly. Pepper giggled at his stifled excitement and shyly reinstated her goodbye and left for her apartment.

Rhodey, having watched this encounter, sighed in annoyance.

"I don't know why they don't just admit they like each other." He complained to his girlfriend Leah, whom he had met less than a few weeks ago, who was standing next to him on the other side of their kitchen counter.

"Oh, you know Tony wouldn't admit that yet." Leah commented.

"Then why does he mindlessly flirt with her all the time?"

"Because Tony is oblivious to that. Tony is oblivious to all of Pepper's attempts to try and give him a hint about how she feels."

"True...it just annoys me is all."

"Oh, it annoys all of us."

Suddenly, Rhodey got an idea. He smiled evilly and turned to Leah.

"Hey, wanna do some...V-day decorating?" He asked. Leah smiled.

"Oh, that is malicious of you. Let's do it!"

~...~

Tony smiled eagerly as he heard Pepper knock on the door.

"Hey, glad you made it," Tony smiled. He led her into the dark living room.

As soon as he spotted them walking in, Rhodey snickered in his hiding spot and flipped the lights on to reveal a room full of pink, red and hearts adorned on the walls. As his next devious act, Rhodey grabbed the remote to the stereo and turned it on to a slow, romantic song.

Tony, having had no part in this, blushed heavily and was suddenly nervous.

"I-I didn't do that! I-I didn't have anything to do with this!" He explained nervously. Pepper just stood in silence, her cheeks a shade of deep reddish-pink. Then it came to them.

"Rhodey!" They shouted in unison. Rhodey chuckled and came out from his hiding spot in a space behind a plant and next to a coffee table pushed against the wall that had been covered by a cloth.

"Aw, come on, it's Valentine's Day. I just wanted to decorate my house for the occasion," Rhodey said slyly.

"Well, this has been fun, but I gotta scoot, I'm meeting Leah at her house. Have fun on your...date," Rhodey said with a mischievous smile and a wave as he walked out the door.

Tony and Pepper stood in the living room, an awkward silence flooding in around them.

Tony cleared his throat to break the silence.

"Uhh, so, I rented a movie, I-if you wanna watch it..." He explained.

"Sure, I'd like that." Pepper answered. Tony put the movie in and they sat down on the couch to enjoy it.

~...~

Tony and Pepper were watching a romantic comedy (in spirit of the holiday) and snacking on some popcorn that was sitting in between them, when they reached for a handful at the same time. Tony's hand ended up sitting atop Pepper's, and Pepper immediately withdrew her hand.

"Oh, my bad…" Tony apologized, blushing a bit. The only reason it was awkward was because the touch of her hand on his sent an electrifying spark through his body; for Pepper, it always did, so it was nothing unusual for her. But for Tony, the feeling was relatively new. He didn't know what it meant when that sort of thing happened, and he was desperate to find out.

The room was silent, except for the movie, until Pepper added her own comment about how the actor playing the main character in the movie was a complete flirt in real life, to which Tony responded with a 'psh, I know way worse guys who're flirts than him'. Pepper chuckled.

"Tony,_ you're _a flirt. You've just never known it." She teased.

"Oh come on now, I'm not that bad am I?" Pepper gave him a look, accompanied by a smile.

"You know you are." Tony chuckled lightly.

"So, maybe I am. What are you going to do about it?" He smiled a playboy's smile and leaned in closer to her. Pepper melted at this on the inside, but on the outside she blushed.

"I don't know, flirt back?" _Whoa. Wait. Where'd _that _come from?_ _I'm not supposed to say that out loud!_ Tony blushed at this and sat back, muttering an uncomfortable 'uuh…' and rubbing the back of his neck nervously. What was he supposed to say to that? 'I want to, but I'm too scared of ruining our friendship and I'm not sure how I feel about you.' Great, Stark, you're ruining another moment with her.

About an hour and a half later, the movie was over, so Tony turned the TV off and took the popcorn bowl into the kitchen, Pepper following. She was surprised, however, to find a bag with Italian food takeout sitting inside.

"Did...did you get this just for me?" Pepper asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I thought it'd be nice, you know?" Tony responded.

"Why, thank you Tony, that's really thoughtful of you!" Pepper said happily. Tony retrieved two plates and laid the takeout on each, equally separating the meal between the two of them.

"This is so delicious, Tony; it was so nice of you to get dinner too!" Pepper smiled as she slurped up a string of spaghetti.

"No problem, I figured it would be fun." Tony responded.

"It's almost as if you're trying to impress me," Pepper said, making it sound like she was joking, but knowing on the inside that she was trying to ask him if he really was trying to impress her.

"Hey, ya never know," Tony answered. Pepper smiled and blushed.

"See! Told you you're a flirt."

"Aw, can't I have a little fun?"

_As if playing with my emotions without even knowing it is fun…_

"Your fun is only fun to you, mind you, Tony dear." Pepper said, patting his arm. Tony was quieted at hearing Pepper address him as 'dear'. It suddenly made him picture the same scenario, except thirty years later, with rings on their fingers. He blushed heavily when he came back to reality to see his best friend, a teenage Pepper sitting in his kitchen.

After much laughter and much smiling, Tony got up to put their plates in the dishwasher and the takeout boxes in the garbage.

Since it was nearing midnight, Tony offered to walk Pepper home. Pepper, of course, had to accept. There's no way her conscience would let her say no thank you.

They stepped out into the crisp winter air, Pepper's sweatshirt not keeping her warm enough, and began the walk into town. Tony stuffed his hands into his pockets as they began to talk.

"To tell you the truth, I never expect that I could have so much fun when I'm with you. But I always do." Pepper said with a smile.

"A little piece of truth of my own, I never thought I'd ever meet a girl who treated me like a regular guy, till I met you…" Tony admitted.

"Aw, come now, everyone deserves a shot at being an individual."

"Yeah, well, most people never really gave me that chance."

"Good thing you have me, then, huh?"

A silence passed over the two as Pepper began to shiver in the cold.

"You okay?" Tony asked.

"It's a bit chilly." Tony automatically removed his coat and placed it over Pepper's shoulders. Pepper smiled and quietly thanked him as she pulled the jacket over her shoulders.

It was quiet for the rest of the way home. Once they got to Pepper's apartment building, Tony walked her to her floor and their front door.

"Thanks for tonight, Tony, it was so much fun." Pepper said as she handed Tony his jacket.

"No problem, I had fun too. Maybe we can do this again sometime..." He offered shyly, slinging his jacket over his shoulder.

"I'd be happy to do this again," she responded.

There was a moment of silence as Tony stuffed his hands in his pockets once more and rocked back and forth on his heels.

Pepper quickly reached up, pecked him on the cheek, said goodbye and quickly closed the door behind her. Tony held his cheek where she had kissed it, smiled and walked back home. Pepper leaned against her door and sighed in delight. It had truly been a night she would remember for the rest of her life.

**Pff, this was sooo cushy. I thought it was cute though :3 just a little ditty for the upcoming holiday, a bit early. Enjoy, and don't forget to review :D**


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